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Woman bashing and woman v woman violence

Woman bashing and woman v woman violence

The internet has been ablaze during the year with #menaretrash due to the alarming gender based violence acts. However, one loophole in the fight against violence and abuse is the ignoring of women v women violence.

The stories of emotional and physical abuse which have both perpetrator and victim as women are often regarded as petty and brushed aside when in reality, it is abuse! Be it fights over men, bullying- the list is endless. This has led to women being regarded as their own worst enemies when the opposite is supposed to be true, in an ideal world.

Our gender expert, Thando Gwinji, highlights that women have been previously disadvantaged by a patriarchal system. As such, as they grow, they tend to be in competition with each other in a bid to “survive”; be it in the workplace where you find women pulling each other down. She further highlights that the patriarchal system has made women rely heavily on men such that they feel they can’t do without a man. The moment there is a second woman in the picture, it gets violent. Gwinji further highlights that violence within the gender can also be termed as gender based violence.

As we close off women’s month, we would like to also address the elephant in the room. Women who abuse other women and how it is often taken for granted but is as real as violence against women. We must ask though: